Coaches of 12-1 teams talking about their teams “trying to find” themselves are almost always engaging in subterfuge. “I don’t want my team to think there as good as I think they are” might be what they’re really saying. That, or, “I am superstititious, and if I start thinking we’re good, then, poof, it all goes away.”

Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg is the rare one telling the truth saying his 12-1 Hokies are still trying to find themselves.

“Winning without Malcolm is really going to serve a good purpose for us,” said Greenberg in his weekly teleconference call with ACC beat writers Monday afternoon, noting how backup point guard Erick Green and junior swingman Dorenzo Hudson stepped up to fill the void left by star guard Malcolm Delaney’s absence in what is to date the Hokies’ signature win of 2009-2010, the 103-94 overtime victory over Seton Hall on Saturday.

Delaney went down with a sprained left ankle in the opening minutes of Tech’s 85-50 win over Longwood earlier last week. Green scored seven points in 32 minutes against Seton Hall in his first significant appearance as a freshman, and Hudson went off the charts with a 41-point performance while hounding dangerous Pirates guard Jeremy Hazell into a 7-for-17 shooting night.

The pressure on Green and Hudson and others will continue for the time being. Greenberg said today that he didn’t “even want to speculate on” when Delaney might be ready to return.

“It’s too early. He’s made progress, but he’s still in the boot,” said Greenberg of the walking boot that Delaney has been sporting since injuring himself in the opening minutes of the Longwood game.

“We’ll just play it day by day. Malcolm’s a tough kid, but I’m not going to risk the rest of the season just so he can play against Carolina (Sunday night),” Greenberg said. “We’re going to proceed with caution. It’s a long season, and there are a lot of games to be played.”